Romans
When the Romans arrived in Cumbria around AD 60 they brought with them fairly rigid concepts of gender and sexuality, but also introduced people from across the Empire to locals. The writing and archaeology they left behind allow us to glimpse queerness in and around Cumbria.
Gender and the Galli
The ideal Roman man was a freeman (i.e. not a slave) who was strong, vigorous and brave, and able to assert control over his social subordinates, women and his own baser instincts. These qualities were encapsulated in the idea of virtus ‘manliness’. Women, on the other hand, were expected to be modest, chaste and obedient. In both public and private life, gender roles were clearly defined, along with other social categories like class and freedom.
A notable exception to the gender binary were the galli – a caste of priestly eunuchs who worshipped the eastern goddess Cybele and wore women’s clothes, jewellery and long hair. Altars to Cybele have been found at Corbridge and Chesters on Hadrian’s Wall (Northumberland), suggesting the possible presence of galli in the north. Archaeologists have also interpreted a burial at Catterick (North Yorkshire), which appears to be a male skeleton buried with women’s clothing and jet jewellery, as the grave of a wealthy gallus. Whether or not this interpretation is correct, the person buried appears to be someone who broke with strict Roman gender roles.
Roman Soldiers
The exotic cult of Cybele reminds us that the Roman empire was a multicultural place and that non-Roman ideas of gender and sexuality might find their way to Britain. The Roman forts of Cumbria were garrisoned by soldiers from Gaul, Germany, Iberia, Syria, North Africa and eastern Europe as well as native Britons, who may have brought their own ideas with them. These forts were exclusively male places, often in isolated locations, which may have encouraged some men to engage romantically or sexually with each other, even if it was forbidden between soldiers.
Roman culture was not totally opposed to sex between men but condemned any adult male citizen or auxiliary soldier (who was not a citizen) who took the passive role, which was seen as submissive and unmanly. Sex between soldiers was not permitted but younger men, slaves or non-citizens were all potential partners. It’s entirely plausible that the civilian settlements (called vici) outside the larger forts, such as Carlisle, Papcastle or Ambleside, provided male as well as female locals willing to satisfy the soldiers’ needs.
An elegant 2nd-century tombstone from South Shields (Tyne & Wear), which was erected by a cavalry trooper named Numerianus in honour of his freed Moorish slave, Victor, has been taken as evidence of an unusually devoted relationship between two men in the area of Hadrian’s Wall.
Hadrian and Sabina
Emperor Hadrian, who may have had the most lasting impact of any Roman on Cumbria thanks to his Wall, famously enjoyed younger male lovers. He met his most significant lover, Antinous, shortly after his visit to Britain to commission his wall in AD 122.
Hadrian’s long-suffering wife, Vibia Sabina (right), accompanied him on his visit to Britain. She later went on to form a strong bond with her lady-in-waiting, Julia Balbilla, raising questions about the nature of their relationship. Julia was described in her day as a ‘second Sappho’ and wrote poetry in the style of the famous Greek lesbian. In an epigram to Sabina, written on the leg of a statue in Egypt, she said:
Yesterday Memnon received [Hadrian’s] wife in silence,
so that the beautiful Sabina might come back here again.
For the lovely form of our queen pleases you.
As Romans understood sex as a penetrative act and expected women to be modest and chaste, the concept of same-sex relationships among females was largely ignored or dismissed by Roman authors, an attitude that would predominate in Britain until the 20th century.